Correctional Officer & Field Training Officer Duties
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Corrections officers and field training officers are valuable members of the criminal justice system.
Police image by Zeno from Fotolia.com
Correctional officer and field training officer are two distinct criminal justice jobs. The correctional officer typically works with inmates in correctional institutions, while the field training officer works with new police officer recruits. While the jobs carry different duties, both types of criminal justice jobs play a vital role in the operation of the criminal justice system.
Correctional Officer
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A variety of jobs are available to correctional officers. They work within jails and prisons supervising prisoners as they move from one location to another. A correctional officer works to train inmates on the rules of the institution. Other work for the correctional officer may involve less prisoner contact, such as serving guard duty to keep prisoners from escaping. Other correctional officers have the task of moving prisoners from the correctional facility to court appearances. They also transport parole violators back to the prison. Correctional officers have training in the use of guns as well as self-defense. Depending on the level of the correctional institution, the correctional officer may not need any specialized training prior to employment. Other institutions require at least an associate's degree in criminal justice. To work in a U.S. federal institution, the correctional officer must have a bachelor's degree or comparable training.
Field Training Officer
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After police recruits undergo training at the police academy, they begin working in a police department as a rookie police officer. No police academy can teach rookies everything they need to know in a classroom setting, so they assign each rookie to an experienced police mentor, or field training officer (FTO). The FTO works with the rookie for the first year while the rookie is on probation. The FTO periodically rates the rookie as to her suitability as a police officer. In order to become a FTO, the officer must undergo specialized training, which provides insight on how to teach the rookie the daily routine of becoming a cop. It also offers the FTO trainee information on how to evaluate the rookie's performance objectively. Larger police squads may offer FTO training in-house, while smaller squads typically send FTO trainees to a regional or state training session. Just as the location of the training varies, so does the length of training.
Salaries
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The salaries of both corrections officer and field training officer vary by location, employer and amount of training. PayScale indicates that corrections officers earn an average salary between $28,691 and $48,595 as of 2010. FTOs receive their pay for the position in addition to the average salary a police officer makes. This averaged between $35,980 and $61,489 in 2010, according to PayScale.
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References
- Photo Credit Police image by Zeno from Fotolia.com
